Look Back in Anger (song)
| Certification = | Last single = "Yassassin" (1979) | This single = "Look Back in Anger" (1979) | Next single = "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" (1979) | Misc = }} "Look Back in Anger" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno for the album Lodger (1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel of Death'",Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.106 and features a guitar solo by Carlos Alomar. RCA Records was unsure if America was ready for the sexual androgyny of "Boys Keep Swinging",Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.43 the lead-off single from Lodger in most territories, and "Look Back in Anger" was issued instead.Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.131 The B-side was another track from Lodger called "Repetition", a story of domestic violence. The single failed to chart. "Look Back in Anger" has a mixed reputation among Bowie commentators. NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have described it as "probably the low point" of the album, while Nicholas Pegg considers it "one of Lodger's dramatic highlights". Beyond the shared title, the song has nothing to do with the John Osborne play Look Back in Anger. Bowie performed the song on his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour (it is the opening number on the ''Serious Moonlight'' film) and reworked it in the mid-1990s as a heavy rock song for the Outside and Earthling tours. Track listing # "Look Back in Anger" (David Bowie, Brian Eno) – 3:08 # "Repetition" (Bowie) – 2:59 Production credits * Producers: ** Tony Visconti ** David Bowie * Musicians: ** David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar ** Dennis Davis: Drums ** George Murray: Bass ** Carlos Alomar: Guitar ** Sean Mayes: Piano ** Brian Eno: Synthesizer, Horse trumpet, Eroica horn ** Tony Visconti: Backing vocals Music video David Mallet directed a music video for the song, featuring Bowie in an artist's studio. The scenario was based on the conclusion of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, as a self-portrait of the protagonist grows more handsome while he himself physically decays.David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: p.355 Other releases * It appeared on the following compilations: ** Chameleon (Australia/New Zealand 1979) ** Christiane F. soundtrack (1981) ** Golden Years (1983) ** Sound + Vision (1989) ** The Singles Collection (1993) ** The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 (1998) ** The Platinum Collection (2005/2006) * In 1988 Bowie recorded a "new, brutal version of the song" with Reeves Gabrels on guitar and Erdal Kizilcay on bass and drums; it was the first arrangement Bowie and Gabrels collaborated on, taking place shortly before the formation of the band Tin Machine.David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.449-450 The recording was issued as a bonus track on the Rykodisc release of Lodger in 1991. Cover versions * Kaligare - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006) * Swans of Avon - The Dark Side of David Bowie: A Tribute to David Bowie (1997) * Tender Fury - Thoughts of Yesterday (1992) Notes External links Category:David Bowie songs Category:1979 songs Category:1979 singles Category:Songs written by David Bowie Category:Songs written by Brian Eno Category:Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Category:Song recordings produced by David Bowie